


Whumptober 2020 - 06 - Guilty

by Celticgal1041



Series: Whumptober 2020 [6]
Category: Magnum P.I. (TV 2018)
Genre: Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Pre-Series, Whump, Whumptober 2020
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-06
Updated: 2020-10-06
Packaged: 2021-03-07 20:27:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,134
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26863651
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Celticgal1041/pseuds/Celticgal1041
Summary: A blanket of guilt settled over them as they wondered if there was something more they could have done. (Pre-series)
Series: Whumptober 2020 [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1949548
Comments: 9
Kudos: 28
Collections: Whumptober 2020





	Whumptober 2020 - 06 - Guilty

The pain in his leg was excruciating. He’d been shot before, but it had never felt like this, which made him think the injury was far more serious than any of them currently realized.

“What were you thinking?” Rick hissed at him angrily as he ripped open Magnum’s pant leg to get a better look at his wound. “I’ll just run over and take the guy out, he says,” Wright mocked him to distract himself from how worried he really was. “No big deal, he says. Well, I’d say it’s a hell of a big deal ‘cause you’re not bulletproof.”

They’d been pinned down and unable to get a clean shot at the sniper. Normally, it would be Rick’s job to deal with the man, but he’d been nursing his right shoulder after it had popped out of the joint a couple weeks back, leaving him unable to deal with the fierce kickback from his high-powered rifle. As usual, Magnum had thrown himself into the role, willingly picking up the slack that resulted from their team being at less than one hundred percent.

Thomas had been confident in his ability to rescue his team, despite having to cross over fifty metres of open space to get into position. Although each day in the field brought with it an inherent danger, never had he thought today would be the day he might die. Now he was paying the price for his hubris in the most agonizing of ways.

“Hold still,” Rick ordered as his friend squirmed beneath his hands. He blanched slightly as the entry point was revealed, the hole oozing blood steadily, but thankfully not overly quickly as to cause additional concern.

“I need to check for an exit,” he told Magnum perfunctorily, his hands already moving to lift the injured man’s leg to check for a matching hole. “Damnit,” he swore when he discovered it lacking. “The bullet’s still in there,” he told Nuzo, glancing over at the man who was currently covering their six.

“Pack it and wrap it,” the man ordered. Their objective now was simply to keep their friend alive long enough to have the projectile removed from his flesh once they returned back to base.

“Get it out,” Magnum gasped, half-rising as he reached a hand towards his leg.

“Hey, none of that now,” Rick admonished him, swatting his friend’s hand away before he could touch the wound with his filthy, dirt-covered hands. Magnum made one more swipe for the injury before falling back to the ground, too exhausted and in pain to maintain his slightly elevated position.

Rick paused in what he was doing to lean forward and catch his friend’s eye. “Thomas, look at me,” he barked, needing the man’s attention before he continued. Magnum opened his eyes to mere slits as he continued battling against the hot metal in his leg. “I have to pack the wound and it’s gonna hurt.” Thomas swallowed thickly, barely able to deal with the pain as it was.

Noting the sheen of sweat on Magnum’s face and the fine tremors that travelled through his limbs, Wright softened his voice as he asked, “Can you handle this, or do you need a shot?”

The idea of morphine was an intoxicating one, and Thomas ached to say yes. But they were in an active battlefield, the sounds of fighting all around them, reminding him that his first duty was to his men. Hesitantly biting his lip and grimacing at the taste of dust, he unsteadily shook his head no. 

Rick’s eyes widened at his friend’s response. “Are you sure, Tommy, ‘cause once I start, I need you to stay still and keep your hands to yourself.” Magnum’s chest was heaving as he fought the sharp pain, but he repeated his earlier gesture to decline the narcotic. Sighing, Wright leaned back on his heels, announcing both to himself and Thomas that he was about to begin. “Alright, then, here we go.”

The first touch sent a flare of fire through his leg, the electric pain spreading down to his toes and upwards to his hip. Every nerve ending screamed with agony, making Thomas jackknife as he scrambled unseeingly to reach the source of the pain.

“Jesus, no!” Rick cried as he once more shifted from rendering aid to stopping Magnum from clawing at his injured limb.

Wright’s exclamation had Nuzo turning from his post to look, and with a quick check of the surrounding area, he dropped his weapon to hang across his chest by its strap so he could assist the other man. “Murphy and his guys can hold them off for a few,” Sebastian said by way of explanation as he dropped to his knees on Magnum’s other side. “You want me to hold him or deal with that?” Nuzo asked as he motioned towards their friend’s bloody leg.

“You hold ‘im,” Rick replied, his hands already slick with the injured man’s blood. “Ready?” he asked, prompting Nuzo to position Magnum’s arms across his chest and hold them there, gently pushing against the prostrate man’s upper body.

Wright wiped at the area around the wound, attempting to remove as much dirt and blood as possible, while Thomas grunted with the effort of containing his sounds of pain. Taking a deep breath to harden his resolve, Rick began to shove gauze into the hole, causing Magnum to writhe in pain as Nuzo pressed his upper body down to hold his brother in place.

Thomas bucked against the weight on top of him as another bunch of gauze was packed into his wound, leaving him completely overcome by how badly it hurt. His vision whited out and his mind blanked, with the only thing repeating over and over in his head being _pain, pain, pain!_ Another touch ignited yet more agony, leaving him unable to even breathe as his body short-circuited.

“Wright, stop!” Nuzo commanded, the body beneath him heaving and trembling so badly that shock was a foregone conclusion. As he lifted himself off Magnum’s chest, he noted the man’s clenched eyes and sweat-covered face, sure signs that his body was about to begin shutting down. Removing one hand from Thomas’ arm, he placed his fingers against the injured man’s neck, counting the erratic beats as they stumbled over one another in a staccato pace that was far too fast. 

“He’s shocky,” Nuzo announced, shaken by their friend’s cool, clammy skin and apparent inability to draw a proper breath.

“I’m almost done,” Rick protested, lifting a hand that contained more gauze which would be used to wrap Magnum’s thigh.

Nuzo shook his head firmly. “Give him a minute, or the blood loss won’t be what kills him.”

Wright blanched at the man’s words, but gave a tentative nod, deferring to the other man’s superior medical knowledge. Sebastian leaned forward to capture Thomas’ face between his hands, speaking to him too lowly for Rick to hear his words. A minute passed and then two, before the erratic jerking of Magnum’s chest finally settled into something more normal, even though it was still too fast and uneven for the other men’s liking.

“Alright,” Nuzo said, lifting up slightly from where he’d been hunched over their friend. “I think we’re good to finish now.”

Before Rick could do anything more than nod in reply, Magnum was searching for Nuzo’s arm and gripping it tightly to pull the man back to him. “Get it out,” he wheezed, his tone pleading and desperate.

Nuzo put his other hand over Thomas’ where it still gripped his arm, wishing he could do what his friend asked. “It’ll be over before you know it,” he replied.

Magnum shook his head emphatically, his eyes wide with panic and filled with pain. “Get it out,” he gasped again, his Adam’s apple bobbing as he swallowed against the dryness in his throat and mouth. “Please.” 

Gently, Nuzo pried Thomas’ fingers from his arm, enclosing both of his friend’s wrists in his hands. He would do anything to take away the man’s pain, but operating in the field held unnecessary risks, and there was no way he could acquiesce to his friend’s request. “It’ll be alright, Tommy; I promise,” he said softly, holding the man’s gaze for a moment more before shifting his attention to Wright. “Give him the shot,” he ordered evenly, his grip tightening at the same time as Magnum’s body tensed in reaction.

“No, no shot,” Thomas pleaded, his struggles now weak enough that Sebastian barely had to exert any force to hold him in place.

Rick smoothly cleaned a small section of exposed skin with an antiseptic wipe and jammed the autoinjector home, holding it in place for a count of three before removing it. “It’s done,” he announced unnecessarily as Magnum’s limbs began to soften in Nuzo’s grip.

They waited another minute before Wright dared to continue, by which time Thomas had fallen limp and quiet, his eyes still partially open as he fought against the powerful drug. Rick worked efficiently to wrap Magnum’s leg in gauze, resolutely ignoring the soft whimpers of pain the man continued to make.

“It’s done,” Wright stated again, already packing up the first aid supplies he earlier pulled out.

Nuzo nodded sadly, hating that they’d had to cause their friend so much pain. “Let’s hope he forgives us,” he replied, not bothering to elaborate for what.

* * *

The other members of their team had finally managed to gain the upper hand, making it safe to request an exfil. That prompted TC’s return, the pilot immediately on edge when he saw Magnum’s unconscious form being loaded onto the helicopter.

Thomas wasn’t the only wounded man in their midst, but his injury was the most severe, the doctor informing them later that the bullet had lodged in their friend’s femur. As a result, they’d operated to remove the twisted chunk of metal and then externally immobilized his leg, needing to wait until the wound healed before they could apply a cast.

“No wonder he was so desperate to get the bullet out,” Rick commented, dragging a hand tiredly across his face as he stared at their unconscious friend.

“Yeah,” Nuzo agreed. “He’s usually pretty whiny when he gets hurt, but that seemed over the top, even for him.”

TC and Rick’s heads snapped towards him at the comment, surprised the man would say something so callous. Sebastian merely grinned at their reactions, waiting a moment before motioning back towards the bed where an awake Thomas lay.

“Welcome back, brother,” Nuzo said, giving Thomas a few seconds to get his wits about him.

Magnum blinked several times and then let his eyes roam over the three men around his bed, confirming for himself that all of them appeared hale and hearty. Returning his gaze to Sebastian, he said, “You knew I was awake.”

Nuzo chuckled and his face lit up. “Couldn’t have you playing possum while the ‘ladies’ over there fretted over you,” he replied, motioning this time to the rest of their group.

Thomas frowned in response, but didn’t argue, his attention now on the blossoming ache that emanated from his leg and the metal contraption that surrounded it. “What’s the verdict?” he asked, wanting, as always, to know how long it would be before he could rejoin the others on active duty.

“Turns out the bullet you took hit the bone,” Rick replied. “You’re looking at three to four months before everything heals, and that’s not including rehab.”

“Huh,” Magnum said, seemingly unsurprised by the lengthy recovery time. Seeing the questioning looks on his friends’ faces, he explained. “I’ve been shot before, but it’s never felt like this. Some part of me knew things were really bad.”

Nuzo and Rick’s faces blanched, recalling how much Thomas had fought against their ministrations and the amount of pain he’d obviously been dealing with. A blanket of guilt settled over them as they wondered if there was something more they could have done.

Sensing the shift in the room and suddenly feeling uncomfortable, Magnum rushed to offer assurances to his friends. “Look, I don’t actually remember much of what happened after I was shot, but I know you did what was necessary. The fact that I’m here, breathing and alive, proves that. So whatever guilt you’re dealing with, you need to drop it.” He waited for several seconds for a response, and when none was forthcoming, he firmed his tone and said, “Whatever you did, you’re both forgiven.”

It was as though he’d spoken the magic words and the tension simply bled from the room. Nodding slowly, a grin beginning to form on his face, Nuzo asked, “So, race you to the commissary and back six months from today?”

Magnum grinned back as he replied, “You’re on, brother.” 

**Author's Note:**

> Many thanks to AZGirl for proofing; all remaining mistakes are mine.
> 
> This story was based on the day 6 prompt: Please…. get it out / no more / stop, please
> 
> Thanks for reading and I'd love to hear your thoughts if you're so inclined!


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